Today I’ve been finishing up some graphics for our upcoming messages and series. What do ya think?
A stand-alone celebration of our 4 year anniversary! It’s gonna be fun!
Our upcoming series on finances. Yeah, yeah, I know it’s not extremely original, but if ain’t broke, don’t fix it right? It should be a fun series though.

Anyhoo…

The last session of the Leadership Summit was a very inspiring and challenging one to say the least. Bill Hybels, a teaching pastor at Willow Creek, gave the talk titled: “Whatever You Do, Inspire Me!” It was definitely an inspiring talk! Ok, how many times can I use the word inspiring?

The special video segment that set up his talk was an amazing look into the life of Patrick Henry Hughes, a young blind man who is unable to walk, that plays music and participates in the Louisville Marching Band, with the help of his father.

Very inspirational indeed! Hybels asked these 4 questions as he began his talk:

1. How much does it actually matter to MOTIVATE?
2. Whose job is it to motivate senior leaders?
3. What’s the best way to inspire others around me?
4. What would a church look like if everyone was inspired?

1) There is a 40% performance between motivated & unmotivated employees. Employees of an organization are 87% more likely to stay in an organization if they are motivated. Inspired people are more likely to GIVE more to an organization. These are obviously numbers taken from organizations, but they definitely point to the fact that motivated people take ownership of an organization and give more to it! It definitely matters to motivate people.

2) David (a senior leader) encouraged HIMSELF in God! We as leaders need to take responsibility for self-encouragement and self-leadership so that our partners and followers get the most out of the leadership gift God has given us.

Ways to stay encouraged and motivated as a leader:

• Stay clear about the mission; Pay the price to keep clarity about the mission
• Leverage spiritual gifts (strengths) to be used most effectively
• Help other team members inspire others
• Work with inspired people
• Read motivating books
• Rub shoulders with exceptionally inspiring people (as much as you can)
• Participate in exceptionally inspiring events
• Keep PHYSICAL DISCIPLINES going; There is about a 20% energy level difference in those who are intentionally active and those who are not.
• Make sure work environment is inspiring; Don’t surround yourself with boring, uninspiring stuff; Surround yourself with artwork/decor that motivates you!!
• Participate in inspiring recreation outside of workzone (Bill noted that he is a sailing enthusiast)
• Above all, practice DAILY SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES!!

3) Motivating others is all about:

• Living a motivated life in front of them. This doesn’t mean a perfect life, but a life of purpose and discipline!
• Inspiration is contagious!!
• Connect team members and partners to a compelling cause. There’s nothing more unmotivating than working for NOTHING! We all want to be a part of something bigger than ourselves!
• Learn the inspiration languages of all team members and then speak it to them individually! (Similar to the 5 love languages?)
• Identify and eliminate de-motivating factors when possible
• Celebrate progress toward team goals!

4) What would a church (or any organization) look like if everyone was inspired?

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47)

• Love and acceptance of one another
• Respect of the faith community from those outside of it.
• People being “brought on board”
• All members were motivated by the cause

If you are a leader, be it a large group or a small group, what did God give you that gift of leadership to accomplish?

For me I jotted down a few personal thoughts and this is what I came up with:

God gave me the gift of leadership to be a part of a community that develops others who:

• Make a difference in people’s lives
• care about the poor and needy
• cultivate relationships with outsiders
• train & equip people to lead
• minister to needs
• worship God

That’s not really in any specific order, but it was good to think through those. Overall, this was a great session to learn from and be a part of. I feel like I came away from this gathering with some tools and nuggets to point me in the right direction of becoming a better person and leader.

If you would like to be inspired some more please visit this post on my friend Fred McKinnon’s blog. I’ll give you a hint: you’ll have to come out of the shadows to see this one!!

But before you hop over there, what are some of your thoughts on for why God has gifted you (specifically) with the spiritual gifts and talents that you have?